BME PhD Preliminary Exam Announcement for Himabindu Kovvali (E. Pienaar, advisor) Everyone is invited to attend the public presentation beginning at 10:30 am. Title: Quantifying the Intercellular Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Ebolavirus Transmission using a Multi-scale Agent-based Model Date: February 28th Time: 10:30 am Location: DLR 131 and Zoom - https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/98807245615?pwd=Fqo3jRo1eGW67oeQSzLNCSbsd3MiQE.1<https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpurdue-edu.zoom.us%2Fj%2F98807245615%3Fpwd%3DFqo3jRo1eGW67oeQSzLNCSbsd3MiQE.1&data=05%7C02%7Cbmeroundtable-list%40ecn.purdue.edu%7C5de300cb21e24bcfb88d08dd5111fad9%7C4130bd397c53419cb1e58758d6d63f21%7C0%7C0%7C638755859856420098%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=J3NCeYcoBgfjGu8Ik0lBBzqrzV77o1ubHjW6fJZOdMU%3D&reserved=0> Committee: Elsje Pienaar (advisor), Charles Babbs, Leopold Green, Robert Stahelin Abstract: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is a severe and often fatal illness caused by infection with the genus Ebolavirus (EBOV). Characterized by hemorrhagic fever and multi-system organ failure, EVD has resulted in more than 30 outbreaks since its discovery in 1976, with case-fatality rates reaching up to 100%. Despite advancements in vaccines and therapeutics, mortality remains high, and existing treatments can cause severe side effects. A critical gap in our understanding of EBOV pathogenesis lies in the mechanisms governing protein-protein and lipid-protein interactions that drive viral assembly and cell-to-cell spread. This gap hinders the development of targeted antiviral therapies. To overcome the challenges of studying live EBOV in Biosafety Level 4 laboratories due to its high contagiousness, researchers have developed recombinant systems that express subsets of EBOV genes in mammalian cells. One such system involves the viral matrix protein VP40, which independently assembles into virus-like particles (VLPs) that mimic the morphology and budding properties of EBOV virions. Co-expression of VP40 with nucleoprotein (NP), a key component of the viral nucleocapsid, enhances VLP production and results in two distinct VLP populations: one incorporating NP inclusion bodies (NP-VLPs) and another lacking them (non-NP VLPs). However, the precise mechanisms by which NP modulates VP40 VLP formation and trafficking remain unclear. To address this, we extend previous single-cell differential equation model of VP40-NP interactions into a multi-scale agent-based model that simulates these dynamics at a population level. By integrating experimental data with computational modeling, I aim to elucidate how intracellular NP-VP40 interactions propagate across a multicellular environment to sustain viral assembly and egress. This approach will provide novel insights into EBOV protein dynamics and contribute to a standardized computational framework for studying viral-host interactions, ultimately informing antiviral drug development and therapeutic strategies. -- Bmeroundtable-list mailing list Bmeroundtable-list@ecn.purdue.edu https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECN/mailman/listinfo/bmeroundtable-list